Dem Atlas, Mayda, Idle Hands, and more to play 11/26 Philippines relief benefit at the Nomad

Sponsor

Sponsor

Typhoon Haiyan devastated the Philippines earlier this month, causing $1.36 billion of damage and killing more than 5,000 people while leaving thousands more homeless. In the last few weeks, calls to support the relief effort have been ubiquitous and help has poured in from around the globe.

It was one of the simplest calls to action—a “Donate” button on Facebook—that gave Sebastian Love, lead guitarist of Hot Damn! and founder of Bad Medicine Productions, the idea to see what good he could do through the local music scene. “I wanted to put on a good show and make a difference if I could,” he said.

The result is a November 26 showcase at the Nomad World Pub, featuring six local acts representing a wide range of Minneapolis music. All proceeds from the $5 cover and sales of the $4 “mystery beer” go towards the Red Cross’s efforts in the Philippines. The Red Cross will be on hand, and the 21+ event is sponsored by Summit Brewing Company, Vagabond Bodywork, and Klash Custom Drums.

The event, described as a “short-notice benefit for a short-notice catastrophe,” came together quickly. “If we’re going to do a benefit show for the Philippines,” Love said, “we should do it soon.” He reached out to people he knew and worked with, and these connections helped the show come together.

Though most of the artists on the bill know each other, as often happens, they are by no means homogenous. Idle Hands, Irish transplants to the Twin Cities, bring a distinctly European glam-rock sound—sharp, clean riffs and a steady groove. Love describes the three-piece outfit Hot Damn! as “heavy dirty sexy bluesy catastrophic rock and roll.”

The night ends on a still-different note. Dem Atlas, a rapidly rising St. Paul MC who recently signed to Rhymesayers, brings his combination of rapidly cryptic, yet playful, rhymes and 90s-influenced production. KiDs LiKe Us, a Minneapolis hip-hop collective, should keep the vibe going with high-energy group tracks.

Love hopes that the broad range of acts will bring in a broad range of support, and he feels confident that local fans will come out for a Tuesday night show if the line-up is solid. “This is a good town for this sort of thing, I think,” he said.

Though the point of the benefit is to provide aid to victims of a horrible disaster, Love emphasized that the night itself isn’t going to be a somber affair. “This is going to be a party.”